Machine for feeding rings.



Y J. MERRlTT & C. H. STORRS.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING RINGS. APPLICATION FILED APR.4. 1912. RENEWED MAY 1.1914.

Path'ted Apr. 6, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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J. MERRITT & C. H. STORRS.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING RINGS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4. 1912. RENEWED MAY 7, 1914.

1 9 1 34 87 Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

V'HE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO LITHCL. WASHINGTON. n c

1. MERRITT & C. H. STORRS.

V MACHINE FOR FEEDING RINGS. APPLICATION FILED APR.4, 1912. RENEWED MAY1, 1914.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

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ZVMZJM THE NORRIS PETERS C0,, PHOTO-LITHOU WASHINGTON. D C

J. MERRITT & C. H. STORRS.

,MACHINE FOR FEEDING RINGS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4, 1912. RENEWED MAY 1, 1914.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

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witnesses:

M 9% fiw 6% 11M Avior/15y THE NORRIS PEIERs C0. PHOTO-LITHO..Vl/ASH/NGTON. D. C,

JOSEPH MERBI'IT AND CHARLES H. SroR-Rs, or HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT,AssIeNoRs, BY DIRECT ANn MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE HARTFORD L OK RINGCOMPANY, or HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CCRPORATION or CONNECTICUT. V

nisassr.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915..

Application filed April 4, 1912, Serial No. 688,499. Renewed May 7,1914. Serial N 0. 837,082.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that'we, JOSEPH MERRITI andCHARLES H. STORES, citizens of the United States, residing at Hartford,in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Machines for Feeding Rings, of which thefollowing is a specification.

. This invention relates to a machine which is particularly designed forfeeding light,

in a uniform manner. This object may be attained by providing a hopperhaving inclined walls with an opening at the bottom, below which openingis the tip of a collecting rod. The rings are put into the hopper, andsliding down the side walls drop out of the opening. Some drop onto andare caught by the collecting rod, down which they pass. Others escapeand drop into a rotary elevator which carries them up and pours themback into the hopper. If the rings are split,and the machine shown isdesigned to feed split rings, as the rings pass down the collector rodthey are manipulated so as to be turned and fed with all the openings inline with each other. This is accomplishedby providing the collectingrod with a feather. If the rings pass down in such position that thefeather enters between the opened ends, the rings continue to drop. Ifthe rings do not reach the feather in the proper position they areturned around by suitably rotated wipers until the openings between theends are in line with the feather So that the rings will drop down. Thislocates the rings on the rod one above the other with the openings inline in such position that they may be uniformly fed to other mechanismsfor subsequent treatment.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a front, elevation of amachine which embodies the invention, with a portion of the casing ofthe rotary elevator broken away in order to Show the ring carryingbuckets. Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the machine with the hopperand rotary elevator out in central vertical section. Fig. 3 shows a planof the operating mechanism, the hopper and rotary elevator beingomitted. Fig. lshows on larger scale a plan of a wiper in the actofengaging a ring onthe collector rod so that the ring will be turned inorder that the guiding feather may enter the opening between theseparated ends of the ring. Fig. 5 shows a side elevation of the partsshown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 shows a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 4afterthe wiper has turned the ring so that the opening between its endscoincides with the plane of the feather. Fig. 7 is a side View of theparts in the position shown in Fig. 6. Fig.

8 is a sectional'view. of the'wiper rotating mechanism, on theplaneindicated by the dotted line 8- 8 on Fig. 3. f

The mechanism illustrated as embodying this invention is mounted on atable 1 which is clamped upon the end of a supporting post 2. The hopper3 is mounted on four posts which are supported by arms 5 projecting fromthe upper ends of the standards 6. The hopper has inclined bottom Walls,

and at the lower end is an opening 7. The rings which are placed in thishopper in a promiscuous mass work by gravity down the inclined walls anddrop through the opening at the'bottom, thesize of which may beregulated by adjusting the movable gateplate 8.

Surrounding the hopper is a cylindrical elevator 9. This elevator hasbuckets 10 in i the interior, which, when the elevator is rotated, carrythe rings up and drop them into the hopper. On the periphery of theelevator are two annular flanges 11 and an vent sidewise displacement ofthe elevator.

When the elevator is thus located, its peripheral rack 12 meshes with apinion 16 on one of the shafts 13. The inwardly extending flanges 17close the sides of the elevator buckets. Doors 18 are hinged to thebottom of the hopper for closing part of the opening in the sides of theelevator. On one side a button 19 is arranged on the underside of theelevator for the purpose of temporarily holding the door open when it isdesired to inspect the interior. Plates 20 attached to the brackets 21on the posts 4: are employed to close other portions of the opening inthe sides of the elevator so as to prevent the rings from spilling out.

The collector rod 22 is located so that its tip is just below thedischarge opening through the bottom of the hopper in position to catchrings which drop through the opening. Such rings as the collector rodcatches slide downward. The rings which are not caught drop into theelevator and are carried up and returned to the hopper. The collectorrod has a feather 23 which is clamped to the bracket 24L by the plate25. At the upper end of the feather is a finger 26, and held between thebracket and theclamp plate is a small guide-plate 27. If the ringsfollow down the collector rod with the openings in line with thefeather, as shown in Fig. 6, they will continue their movement down therod. If the openings between the ends of the rings are not in line withthe feather, as shown in Fig. l, they are caught with the finger 26projecting through them, as shown in Fig. 5. They occupy this positionuntil they are turned around the rod by the wipers or brushes into suchposition that the openings do coincide with the feather.

The brushes shown consist of wipers 28 clamped in a rotatable head 29mounted on a vertical arbor 30. This arbor is fixed on the end of aswinging arm 31 which is pivoted on a post 32 that is fixed to theframe. (Fig. 8.) A spring 33 (Figs. 1, 3) tends to draw the arm bearingthe wiper head toward the collector rod. This movement is limited by thestop screw 34 (Figs. 1, 3). Tn case the rings jam or get caught 011 thecollector rod, the spring yields and allows the head to move away sothat the rings are not crushed, or any of the parts injured. 0n thelower end of the hub of'the wiper head 29 is a pinion 85, engaging withwhich is a pinion 86 that is pivoted on a stud 37 also mounted on thearm. Engaging with the intermediate pinion 36 is a gear 38.0n the hub ofthe beveled gear 39 which is mounted on the post 82 which forms the axisof the swinging arm that carries the head. (Fig. 8.)

Meshing with the beveled gear 89 is a beveled gear 40 on a shaft 41 thatis supported by bearings at the top of the brackets 42. (Figs. 2, 3.) Onthe end of the shaft 41, opposite the beveled gear 40 is a spur gear 43,meshing with which is a spur gear a l on one of the elevator supportingand rotating shafts 13. Connected with the gear 44 is a beveled gear4L5, meshing with which is a beveled pinion 46 that is connected withthe driving pulley &7. (Figs. 2, 8.)

The rings are thrown promiscuously into the hopper and flow down theinclined walls to the opening at the bottom. Some of the rings indropping through the opening are in such position that they are caughtby the collecting rod, others drop into the hopper.

When the mechanism is in operation, the hopper is rotated and thebuckets carry the rings which drop into them up and pour them back intothe hopper. This action takes place in such a way that the rings arecaught by the collector rod very rapidly. Such rings as pass down thecollector rod with the openings between the ends in the proper positioncontinue their downward movement past the feather and are guided by thefeather in proper position for future manipulation. Such rings as passdown the collector rod with the openings between their ends out of linewith the feather are de tained until the revolving wiper turns them sothat the openings will come into line with the feather and they cancontinue down the rod. The wipers shown are arranged on an incline sothat they slightly lift the rings and tip the ends down in such mannerthat they are inclined to when turned engage with the feather and passdown. The finger at the upper end of the feather, which passes into therings, holds them in a limit ner which facilitates this, as does theguideplate that is clamped to the bracket opposite the finger at the topof the feather. If the rings catch and tend to jam, the wiper headswings away, thus eliminating any danger of damage. When the jam isreleased, the wiper head is drawn back by its spring so as to continueits turning action on the rings. This simple mechanism automaticallyhandles small, light rings as well as larger rings very rapidly anddelivers them all in the same relation, that is, with the openingsbetween the ends in alinement.

The invention claimed is:

1. A ring feeding machine having a hopper with a discharge opening, acollector rod with its tip below the discharge opening, a guidingfeather, and mechanism for turning the rings on the rod so that theopenings between their ends will coincide with said feather.

2. A ring feeding machine having a hopper with a discharge opening, acollector rod with its tip below the discharge open ing, a featherprojecting from the collector rod, and means for lifting and turning therings on the rod so that the openings between their ends will coincidewith said feather.

. lector rod, a wiper for rotating the rings on the collector rod,mechanism for rotating the wiper, a rotary elevator for catching ringswhich pass through the opening and are not caught by the rod, andmechanism for rotating the elevator and returning the rings caughtthereby.

5. A ring feeding machine having a hopper with inclined walls and adischarge opening at the bottom, a rotary elevator with buckets forcarrying rings up and depositing them in the hopper, mechanism forrotating the elevator, a collector rod with its tip below the hopperdischarge opening, a feather projecting from the rod, a rotatory wipermovable toward and from the col lector rod for turning rings on the rodthat are caught by the feather, means for drawing the wiper toward therod, and mechanism for rotating the wiper.

6. A ring feeding machine having a hopper with a discharge opening, acollector rod with its tip below said discharge opening, a featherprojecting from the rod, a rotatory wiper movable toward and from therod, means for drawing the wiper toward the rod, and mechanism forrotating the wiper.

7. A ring feeding machine having a hopper with a discharge opening, acollector rod with its tip below said discharge opening, a featherprojecting from the rod, a rotatory head, mechanism for rotating thehead, and spirally arranged wipers on the head adapted to rotate andlift rings on the rod that are caught by the feather.

8. A ring feeding machine having a hopper with a discharge opening, acollector rod with its tip below the discharge opening, a swinging head,a rotatory wiper carried by the head, and mechanism for rotating thewiper.

9. A ring feeding mechanism having a collector rod, a rotatorywiper'adjacent to the rod, and mechanism for rotating the wiper.

10. A ring feeding mechanism having a collector rod, a rotatory wiperadjacentto the rod, said wiper being adapted to liftv and rotate ringson the rod, and mechanism for rotating the wiper.

11. A ring feeding mechanism :having a collector rod, a swingingrotatory wiper adjacent t0 the rod, and mechanism for rotating thewiper.

12. A ring feeding mechanism having a collector rod, a head adjacent tothe rod, mechanism for rotating the head, and wipers projecting spirallyfrom said head adjacent to the collector rod.

JOSEPH MERRITT. CHARLES H. STORRS. Witnesses:

HARRY R. WILLIAMS, CHARLOTTE S. HULL.

G'opies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

